Issue WI 2

WI 2: Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure to address the most compelling reasons and/or examples that could be used to challenge your position.

This writing instruction is similar to WI 1 in that the test takers also need to take a stance on the issue statement. The additional requirement in this WI is that the test takers need to consider the other side of the issue and address the challenging position that may be advanced against their own arguments. Such a requirement is related to the “myside bias” that students need to learn to recognize as they develop their argumentative writing skills (e.g. Liu & Stapleton, 2014; Wolfe, 2012; Wolfe, Britt, & Butler, 2009). Although being able to recognize myside bias is considered an important milestone in the development of argumentative writing skills, addressing the potential challenge is only required for 25 issue tasks assigned with WI 2, a relative small portion of the 152 issue tasks in the pool. Nevertheless, WI 5 which is assigned to 16 issue statements has a similar requirement.